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AAJ Statement on Google Ending Forced Arbitration

Contact:

Carly Moore Sfregola

Email:

Carly.Sfregola@justice.org

Phone:

202-684-9609

Washington, DC — The following is a statement from American Association for Justice CEO Linda Lipsen on the announcement from Google promising to end mandatory forced arbitration for all full-time employees:

“AAJ applauds the courageous group of women from Google who organized the walkout to call national attention to sexual harassment and the common workplace policy of forced arbitration that silences survivors and allows corporations to escape accountability.

As we celebrate this good news for Google employees, we call on Congress to take action to end forced arbitration for all Americans. We commend Senators Richard Blumenthal and Patty Murray and Representatives Hank Johnson, Jerry Nadler and Bobby Scott for leading on this issue, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham, who last year publicly challenged companies to end forced arbitration as a matter of good business practice.

Some corporations, like Microsoft and now Google have taken action, realizing forced arbitration was bad policy. Until the law is changed, forced arbitration remains the prevailing practice for most corporations, leaving millions of Americans unable to enforce their constitutional right to seek justice and accountability from the corporations who hurt them. Forced arbitration means that corporations can get away with breaking the law and never be held responsible. That’s why Congress needs to step up and pass comprehensive legislation to ensure all Americans, not just employees at Google, can enforce their rights.”

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The American Association for Justice works to preserve the constitutional right to trial by jury and to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org.